‘It was outrageous’
State cop killed my 11-yr.-old in chase: ma’s suit
The mother of an 11-year-old Brooklyn girl killed in a crash three days before Christmas during a state trooper’s pursuit has filed papers to sue New York State, according to court records obtained by the Daily News.
Lawyers for Michelle Surrency allege State Trooper Christopher Baldner, 40, killed young Monica Goods on Dec. 22 by rear-ending an SUV driven by the child’s dad, Tristin Goods.
The police report, also obtained by The News, confirms Baldner’s vehicle slammed into Goods’ 2017 Dodge Journey, forcing it into a guardrail where it flipped and rolled. Monica was ejected and died at the scene.
Baldner, an 18-year veteran of the force, pulled over the elder Goods for speeding on Interstate 87 about 11:45 p.m. in the upstate Town of Ulster. The two argued, and Baldner inexplicably fired pepper spray into Goods’ vehicle, hitting the dad; his girlfriend, April, and both Monica and her 12-year-old sister Tristina, the claim states.
In the aftermath of the deadly crash, state troopers, rather than taking the injured Tristina to the hospital, hauled her into their barracks, where she was questioned for hours and her statement recorded without her mom being present, Surrency alleges.
“It was outrageous,” said Surrency, 30. “They questioned her before they informed me what happened. I should have been there. I had to come from New York City to the [barracks] to take my baby to the hospital.”
Tristina sustained head, neck and back injuries in the crash and was also in pain from the pepper spray, the papers claim.
“She watched her sister die,”
Surrency said. “She’s in therapy, but she’s going to be traumatized forever.”
Earl Ward, a prominent civil rights lawyer not involved in the case, said questioning Tristina without a parent raises a big red flag.
“The sister is dead, the father has been assaulted and you bring this young child to the barracks and without any guardian involvement, you question her,” he said. “It borders on illegal and it’s certainly unprofessional and callous. They should have taken her to the hospital and gotten parental consent.”
Surrency’s lawyer Sanford Rubenstein said the suit alleging reckless negligence will be filed in the state Court of Claims.
“The filing of this notice is the first step in the journey for justice to hold the state liable in damages for the wrongful actions of the state trooper which resulted in the death of one child and the physical and [psychological] injuries to her sister,” he said.
Tristin Goods has not been charged by Ulster County prosecutors nearly three months after the crash. The state attorney general’s office is investigating Monica’s death.
“I want the attorney general’s office to arrest this officer. He needs to go to jail and not just get a slap on the wrist,” Surrency said. “Me and my children are suffering while he gets to go home to his family. He needs to lose his job and go to jail.”
William Duffy, a spokesman for the state police, declined to comment. He also declined to release the agency’s written pursuit policy.
“This is an ongoing matter and it would be inappropriate to provide specific details of the investigation at this time,” he said.